Tips!

To move around.

The transportation from Puerto Varas to Ensenada and Petrohue is done in buses that depart from the intersection of San Pedro and Del Salvador streets, starting at 8:00 AM until 8:30 PM. To travel to Cochamo and Puelo from Puerto Varas you will have to take the bus at the intersection of San Bernardo and Walker Martinez streets. Their schedule is Monday through Friday at 8:00 AM – 12:30 PM and 5:00 PM. Saturdays and Sundays only at 8:00 AM. To Bariloche you can travel on Taschoapa buses every day at 8:40 AM from the TurBus bus terminal in Puerto Varas

From Puerto Varas you can drive three different routes with which you will get to know very well the area we are located.

The first ride we recommend to appreciate the natural beauty is to take the route 225 towards the village of La Ensenada and drive to Petrohue, where you can visit the Vicente Perez Rosales National Park, the Petrohue Falls and the Todos Los Santos Lake. In this area you can trek the trails that go around the Osorno Volcano and the lake. After this you can go back to La Ensenada and drive on the border of the Llanquihue Lake for about 2 km. (less than 2 miles) to drive up to 1,100 mters above sea level on an asphalt road. At the top of the Osorno you can contemplate a vast part of the Tenth Region. There is a cafeteria and sky lifts that you can rido up to 1,800 meters of altitude.

Continuing with the ride along the Llanquihue Lake’s shore we find the village of Las Cascadas, Puerto Fonk and Puerto Octay at the north side of the Llanquihue Lake. From this point, and always bordering the lake, you will get to Frutillar, where you can enjoy a wonderful view of the lake and a handful of volcanoes dispersed in the Andes Range. Besides the natural beauty you can see the German influence on the town, with the architecture and famous pastries. Always countinuing along the lake you will get to the town of Llanquihue. 7 km. away fron it Puerto Varas is located. The total route is 260 km. long.

The second route is done going out of Puerto Varas towards the city of Puerto Montt and then taking ruta 7 (Carretera Austral) until you get to the area of Chamiza, where the first entrance to the Alerce Andino National Park is located. Driving forward on ruta 7 for 20 km. more you will find the second entrance to the park (ruta 701). In this park you can do beautiful treks amongst lagoons and “alerzales” (young Alerce forest) withing volcanoes and the Andes Range.

As a third option there is the Chiloe island. The second largest island in South America after Tierra del Fuego, and only 90 km. away from Puerto Varas. To get there you have to take ruta 5 (Panamerican Higway) until you get to Pargua, where are the ferries that cross the Canal de Chacao are. The crossing takes 45 minutes and it costs 9,600 pesos per car. There are ferries crossing regularly and often all day. At the island you can visit the penguin and sea lion colonies south of the town of Ancud. South from here is Castro, where the picturesque “palafitos chilotes”(houses on stilts) decor the city’s shore route. From this point you can take the route to Dalcahue, Quetalco, Tenaun, Quemchi, Linao, Manao to finally return to Chacao where you can take the ferry back to Pargua. This route gives you a clear picture of the Chiloe island, its people, architecture and landscapes.